The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Remix
by Runey Rabbit
Summary: When Zelda gets mysteriously taken away down to the Surface, it's up to Link to embark on a journey to save her. Unfortunately, he can't do it alone, so he is aided by highly unlikely characters. Will they be able to find and rescue Zelda or will everything be sinisterly perished? (ON HOLD FOR A MOMENT BECAUSE IT IS VERY TERRIBLE)
1. Interlude

**IMPORTANT; PLEASE READ: **I was asked to continue this by the author of the name of Conjuring Rain. She no longer goes to the website and, well, it's very complicated and I won't say why. Anyway, that's all. Only three or four chapters had been written, but I will be writing the rest of the chapters and editing the written ones. So, here we go (hopefully I can finish this. :p ).

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><p><span><strong>INTERLUDE<strong>

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><p><em><strong>This is a tale that you humans have passed down uncounted generations…<strong>_

_It tells of a war of unmatched scale and ferocity, the likes of which would never be seen again. _

_One dark, fateful day, the earth cracked wide and malevolent forces rushed forth from the fissure._

_They mounted a brutal assault upon the surface people, driving the land into deep despair. _

_They burnt forests to ash, choked the lands sweet springs, and murdered without hesitation._

_They did all this in their lust to take the __**ultimate power**__ protected by Her Grace, the goddess._

_The power she guarded was without equal._

_Handed down by gods of old, this power gave its holder the means to make any desire a reality._

_Such was the might of the ultimate power that the old ones placed it in the care of the goddess._

_To prevent this great power from falling into the hands of evil swarming the lands…the goddess gathered the surviving humans on an outcropping of earth._

_She sent it skyward, beyond the reach of the demonic hordes. Beyond even the clouds._

_With the humans safe, the goddess joined forces with the land dwellers and fought the evil forces, sealing them away._

_At last, peace was restored to the surface._

_This is a tale that you humans have told for many ages, generation to generation…_

_But there are other legends, long hidden away from memory, that are intertwined with this tale._

_Now, a new legend bound to this great story stands ready to be revealed._

_A legend that will be forged by your own hands._


	2. So It Begins

**CHAPTER 1: SO IT BEGINS**

Upwards, way upwards, up high in the sky, a large red bird, a Loftwing, soared through the clouds, heading towards a massive floating land called Skyloft. A purple colored Loftwing flew right beside it, heading towards the same destination.

Three more Loftwings came out of nowhere, darting right along the massive Skyloft. As they soared on by, three people leapt off of the land, easily landing onto the three Loftwings.

Somewhere else on Skyloft, a girl with pretty blonde hair was standing in a beautiful place, in front of a huge divinely spectacular statue. She had a small harp in her hands and she was singing a soft and pretty melody, gently playing the harp.

The giant, purple Loftwing from before flew down towards her, landing right in front of her and causing her to stop singing and playing her harp. She looked up at the bird creature and smiled kindly at it. Then she held out a white envelope toward the Loftwing.

The purple Loftwing took the envelope into its mouth and then took off into the sky again; leaving the girl standing there and watching it fly off towards its destination.

After a moment, the girl turned her head to the statue, looking around as if she heard something, but there was nothing there…

**[DREAM]**

_A young man with dark blond hair and blue eyes appeared in some dark place, looking around in confusion, not knowing what was going on. Then he turned his head once more, seeing a dark, horrifying creature towering over him. _

_The abomination opened its large mouth and let out a terrifying roar, showing its multiple sharp teeth. _

_The young man gasped a little, backing up in shock and fear, staring up at the monstrosity. _

_And then, suddenly, there was a bright light from above, causing the young man to shield his eyes with his arm, as he looked upwards._

_A ball of light floated down and it began to speak to him in a very strange voice…_

"_**Rise, Link…The time has come for you to awaken…"**_

_The young man, Link, had no idea what this thing was talking about and was still very much perplexed and fearful._

_However, the light continued to speak to him. __**"You are fated to have a hand in a great destiny along with five others, and it will soon find you all…"**_

_Link was still baffled. He was fated to have a hand in a great destiny along with five others, and it will soon find them all? What five others? What destiny? What was this light talking about? What in the world was going on?_

"_**The time has come for you to awaken…"**__ The light continued talking in that strange, unique voice. __**"Link…"**_

_The light then vanished and the hideous beast before him roared extremely loud and viciously, throwing its massive head back. _

_Link shut his eyes, gasping and still holding up his arm, completely horrified by the monstrosity before him._

_He started to open his eyes when he began to hear a familiar shriek, the shriek of a Loftwing._

_Link looked around in confusion, trying to peer into the never ending darkness, trying to find the source of the sound. He looked leftwards, rightwards, backwards, and forwards, but still found nothing._

_When he turned his head to look in front of him again, he was immediately shocked to see a Loftwing's face right up in his own._

**[END OF DREAM]**

Link fell off of his bed, immediately jolting awake from the sound of a Loftwing's loud shriek.

Link dazedly gazed at his room ceiling, realizing he was in his room and not in some dark place. He looked around, seeing a purple Loftwing's head poking out of his window with an envelope in its mouth.

Everything was quiet for a few minutes. Then the Loftwing spat out the envelope, the envelope mercilessly hitting Link's head. The Loftwing let out a soft shriek before pulling its head out of the window and flying away, letting the window shut.

Link sighed tiredly, still feeling a bit drowsy. A few of the Loftwing's purple feathers gently floated to the ground.

"Gosh…" Link mumbled wearily, getting to his feet and picking up the letter, rubbing the back of his head. He began to wonder who the letter was from. He got a good look at it and realized it was from his childhood friend. He opened it and began to read it.

_Hey sleepyhead,_

_I know how much you like to sleep in, so I'm guessing this letter will be your alarm clock this morning. Did I guess right? Rise and shine, __**Link**__! Today's the __**Wing Ceremony**__! You promised to meet me before it starts, remember? _

_You'd better not keep me waiting._

_-__**Zelda**_

Link finished reading the letter and chuckled a little, raising an eyebrow. Oh yes, he remembered. Yesterday he had promised his childhood friend, Zelda, that he'd meet her before the Wing Ceremony, which was a very important ceremony in becoming a knight in Knight Academy, which was where he was now.

Link put the letter away and ran a hand through his dark, blond hair. "Okay, here I come, Zelda…" he muttered, heading towards the door to his room. However, he stopped to open his closet, finding a Blue Rupee inside, which was worth 5 Rupees.

"Huh…I wonder how that got in there," Link mumbled, shrugging before putting the Blue Rupee into his wallet, shutting the closet doors afterwards and then exiting the room.

Link shut the door behind him and found himself in a long corridor. He started making his way towards the big double doors of the Knight Academy, but suddenly saw one of his friends trying to lift some barrels, but was having a very hard time doing so.

"Hey, morning!" Link greeted his friend, Fledge, giving him a wave and approaching him.

The guy, Fledge, stopped trying to lift barrels and immediately stood up, whipping around to face Link, clasping his hands together in front of him and looking kind of tired.

"Good morning, Link!" he talked cheerfully. "Today's the big Wing Ceremony, right?"

Link gave him a short nod. "Yep."

Fledge unclasped his hands, getting a sad and disappointed look on his face. "I wanted to fly too, but I…I didn't make the cut, so I'm stuck back here at the academy."

"I see," muttered Link.

Fledge started making hand gestures, continuing talking, "Plus, I've got to move these **barrels** over to the kitchen." He gestured over to the big kitchen next to them. "I was hoping to at least be able to cheer you on, Link, but…I guess that's the way it goes." Fledge smiled sheepishly at Link. "Go out there and wow them, buddy!"

"Don't worry, I will," Link told him with a smile. "Well, after I meet up with Zelda first."

"You're meeting with Zelda?" Fledge looked a bit surprised.

"Yep," Link replied with an easy grin. "I promised her yesterday that I'd meet with her before the Wing Ceremony, so I'm going to keep my promise to her and go meet her."

"Wow, you're so lucky, Link." Fledge informed him.

Link raised an eyebrow. "Lucky? We're childhood friends, Fledge! We do everything together!"

Fledge just nodded, smiling. "I know, I know. Anyway, I hope you are the one to be victorious in the Wing Ceremony today. Like I said before, go out there and wow them, pal!"

"Will do!" Link said to him, turning and wending off, whistling a little. He reached the double doors of the Knight Academy and opened one of them, stepping outside.

He realized it was a very beautiful day and that the sun was shining brightly. Link thought this was much, _much_ better than the darkness in his dream. Suddenly, he began to frown as he walked away from the Knight Academy. He was still perplexed about that dream he had. He'd been having many of the same ones, a light telling him about how he needs to be awakened and that there were five others who had a destiny along with him. He was so confused!

"Hey, Link! Up here!"

Link heard the voice and looked up, seeing his friend, Horwell up on the second floor of the Knight Academy. He was leaning over the edge, staring down at him with a huge smile plastered upon his face.

"Good morning to you, Link! Today's finally the day of the long-awaited Wing Ceremony!" Horwell exclaimed cheerfully.

"Yep, I know," spoke Link.

"Are you feeling ready? Oh, I just remembered. There's something I'd like to ask you about," Horwell stated, looking like he just recalled something.

"Fire away." Link sighed.

"Oh, but it's a little silly to carry on a conversation from this distance," Horwell talked. "Why don't you come join me up here?"

"Eh? Well…alright then." Link turned and was about to go back into the Knight Academy to take the stairs, but Horwell stopped him.

"Wait!" Horwell exclaimed. "You should be able to climb up if you **dash** up to the top of that wooden box, don't you think?" He lifted a finger and pointed to two large wooden boxes up against a stone wall thing that looked like it used to be a small walkway to the other side of where Horwell was standing.

Link stopped and whipped around, eyeing the boxes.

"You should be able to make that jump fairly easily!" Horwell commented, sounding quite cheerful. "Try climbing up here!"

"Right, right…" Link muttered, backing up a bit. Then he started sprinting towards the large wooden boxes, easily lifting one foot and stepping onto its side, bringing himself up and latching his hands onto the top edge of the boxes. He lifted his other foot up and climbed to the top, grunting a bit. Then he got onto the broken walkway, turning to look at Horwell.

"So what do you think?" Horwell began. "Sprinting is useful, isn't it?"

"Of course it is!" Link talked, shrugging. "I sprint all the time! You act as if I've never sprinted before."

"Ah…well, sorry about that," Horwell sheepishly said. "However, don't dash around so much that you tire yourself out, or your **stamina gauge** will empty and you'll be completely out of breath. It's best to take a little break when your stamina gauge gets close to empty."

"I know _that_, Horwell." Link reminded him.

"Ahem." Horwell cleared his throat. "Got all that? On to the next point…"

Link tried not to roll his eyes.

"You can jump a short distance like this." Horwell waved a hand toward the gap between him and Link. "Just by moving toward it. I like to call it the **autojump**. Ahh, yes, autojump…It just has a nice ring to it."

"Only to you…" Link chittered under his breath.

"What was that?" Horwell looked confused, eyeing Link.

Link put on a smile. "Nothing, nothing! Here I come!" he shouted, sprinting towards the edge of the thing he was on. He easily jumped to the other side and made it over to Horwell, not even breaking a sweat.

"So what are you up to?" Horwell questioned once Link looked at him. "Rushing to get some last-minute bird-riding practice in this morning, Link?" he asked.

"Nah," Link responded with a shake of his head. "I'm going to meet someone before the Wing Ceremony."

"Oh?" Horwell looked a little surprised. "You have someone to meet?"

"Yep. Zelda," Link answered with a short nod.

"Ah, Zelda's waiting for you, is she?" Horwell smiled.

"Yep," Link answered again, shrugging. "So, uh, I have to get going if I want to see her in time. Besides, she told me not to keep her waiting!"

"Perfect timing, then!"

Link looked confused. "Huh?"

"You see, Zelda's father, Headmaster **Gaepora**, has a pet named **Mia**, and, well…she's scampered off again." Horwell explained, clasping his hands together behind his back.

"Is that so?" Link really didn't feel like getting Gaepora's pet when Horwell could just do it himself. "Do you know where she is?" he queried.

Horwell nodded, pointing back behind them, at a small cat-like creature sleeping on one of the roofs of the Knight Academy. "Look! Over there! Do you see her?" he asked.

Link looked. "Yes."

Horwell turned back to Link, clasping his hands behind his back again. "The headmaster is so busy working with Zelda preparing for the ceremony..." He elaborated slowly, a sheepish grin appearing on his face. "I thought that maybe I should feed her, but the ceremony is about to start and I just put on a fresh set of clothes and, well…you see…"

Link stopped him there, holding up a hand and sighing, "Say no more. You want me to go up there and retrieve Mia for you, right?"

Horwell nodded, looking hopeful.

It was in Link's nature to help others, so he couldn't just say no to Horwell no matter how bad he wanted to.

So, he finally mumbled, "I'm on it!"

Horwell looked very happy now. "Fantastic! So you'll do it? I know you're in a hurry, so I really appreciate your taking the time to help."

"No problem," Link talked, shrugging nonchalantly. Yes, he told Horwell it was no problem, but deep down, it _was_ a problem. But of course, Link wouldn't tell Horwell _that_.

Horwell gleefully pointed over behind them again, but this time towards a wall with green vines crawling around it along with another gap to reach those vines. "You should be able to climb up somewhere over there. If you hang off that ledge there, you can climb onto the roof from the other side." He explained to him. "I'm terribly sorry, but I know you're quite the climber! I really do appreciate it."

Link just nodded and took of sprinting towards the ledge, kicking his feet up the wall and grasping the ledge with both hands. Then he started climbing his way over to the other side. When he finally reached the other side, he let go of the ledge, dropped down, sprinted and jumped over the gap, and grabbed onto the green vines, easily climbing them to the top of the roof.

Afterwards, Link needed to catch his breath. So he took a few minutes to do that. When he was done, he started looking for a way to get onto the other roof where Mia slept. It was way too high for him to sprint and jump up to. Just when Link was about to make his way over to a large wooden box, he heard Horwell's voice, which stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey, Link!"

"Yes?!" Link called back.

"I don't care how good a jumper you think you are. You'll never reach a roof that high," Horwell yelled at him. "There should be a wooden box up there. Grab and move one with your hands, and use it as a platform of sorts!"

"Okay!" Link yelled back wearily. He turned towards the box again and sighed, wondering how Horwell knew there was a wooden box up here. "I sure didn't see it when I was down there with him," he chattered, lifting his hands and pushing the wooden box against the wall so he could climb up to the roof.

Once that was done, he backed up and sprinted towards the box, kicking his legs up and climbing onto it and then grasping the ledge of the roof, easily climbing up with a few grunts. He then saw Mia sleeping peacefully there. He went over and quickly picked her up, staring up at her.

She woke up with a, "Meow!"

Link flashed her a grin. "Hey there."

"Mrrow!" Mia meowed again.

Link held the kitty thing in his arms and made his way back to Horwell. Once he did, Horwell raised his hands in surprise and grinned.

"Nice work!" he praised. "You've brought her back safe and sound!"

"Yep." Link put Mia down in front of Horwell.

"Sorry for troubling you with this. I know you're busy, Link! I suppose I should feed Mia now…" Horwell trailed, eyeing the cat creature.

"Yeah, you should," griped Link.

"Please tell the headmaster that we found his pet," Horwell told him with a sigh. "He should be up by the **Statue of the Goddess**."

At the mention of the giant statue, Link naturally turned in that direction, gazing at the large Statue of the Goddess, knowing that's where he had to go anyway.

"I believe Zelda is there with him, so you should hurry along." Horwell announced.

"Right, see you." Link whirled and immediately started sprinting in that direction, stepping on a **Stamina Fruit** along the way, the magical fruit mystically replenishing all of his stamina as he ran.

However, a guy named Jakamar, who was standing by some closed gate, stopped him in his tracks.

"Mornin', Link." He greeted him. "How's life? Did you manage to get even a wink of sleep last night?" he asked him.

"Oh, I got plenty of sleep," Link responded with a small smile. "I slept like the dark sky at night."

"Oh. Figured you might've been tossin' and turnin' all night thinkin' about the big **Ceremony** today." Jakamar talked, staring at him thoughtfully while gripping a hammer in his right hand.

Link noticed the hammer and raised an eyebrow. "What are you up to, Jakamar?" he questioned him.

"What am I doin'?" Jakamar spoke. "Oh, just fixin' this gate here." He gestured towards the closed gate beside them. "It's been squeaky lately, and we can't have that on the day of the ceremony!"

"True," commented Link.

"Hey, you haven't already forgotten to **send your prayers** to the goddess this morning, have you?" Jakamar questioned him curiously.

"Uh…no?" Link replied, looking a bit confused.

Jakamar pointed his hammer in the direction of a statue of a bird. "Just face the **bird statue** over there, and say a short prayer to **save** your progress." He informed like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Save my what?" Link looked even more perplexed.

"As you know, those bird statues are all over Skyloft," Jakamar told him, completely ignoring Link's question and perplexity. "It's about time you get in the habit of stoppin' at a statue every time you run by one."

"Uh…right…" Link muttered, still looking quite baffled.

Jakamar then laughed. "**A prayer in time saves nine**, if you know what I'm sayin'!"

"Sure," Link said sarcastically. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Jakamar," he told him while starting to jog towards the bird statue.

"Yeah, see ya!" Jakamar waved before getting back to work on the closed gate before him.

Once Link made it over to the bird statue, he examined it closely. "So I guess I just give it a short prayer?" he said to himself before getting down on one knee and clasping his hands together, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

The young man muttered a short prayer and was surprised when he felt something magical sweep through him. That's when he knew his 'progress' had been 'saved'.

Link slowly got to his feet, his eyes wide. "Well…that's kind of weird," he mumbled to himself and then turned away from it. "Anyway, Zelda is still waiting. I better hurry."

He spun and started sprinting up the wooden steps towards the Statue of the Goddess, running as fast as he could, but also losing stamina and breathing heavily. Luckily, there was a Stamina Fruit up there. He stopped and picked it up, tossing it into his mouth and savoring the sweetness of the fruit. The magical fruit immediately replenished all of his stamina.

When he was done, he continued on his way.

Finally, he reached his destination!

He could see his friend, Zelda, standing in front of the Statue of the Goddess, dressed in pink and looking very beautiful. She had her back facing him, not noticing him just yet. Zelda held a small harp in her hands and she was playing it gently while singing softly.

A bright smile jumped onto Link's features after he laid eyes on her and he stopped, hearing her sing beautifully.

"_Oh youth, guided by the servant of the goddess…_"

Link smiled softly at this and began to approach her slowly, making his way towards her as she continued to play and sing softly.

"_Unite earth and sky…Bring light to the land…_" Zelda continued singing the wonderful melody, her fingers gracefully brushing against the strings of the golden harp.

As Link continued to approach her, Zelda stopped, hearing his footsteps. She turned around and gave him a big smile.

"Hey!" She greeted him cheerfully. "Good morning, Link."

Link returned her smile with a brilliant one of his own. "Good morning, Zelda!" He greeted her back, finally stopping in front of her.

Zelda held the harp in her arms now, gazing at him happily. "I'm glad to see my **Loftwing** got you out of bed. I was pretty sure you'd sleep in and forget to meet me this morning."

"Nah, I wouldn't forget something like this!" Link retorted, waving a hand in a dismissive manner. Then he got a thoughtful look on his face. "But I _was_ still sleeping, so…maybe I would've slept in if your Loftwing didn't come…" Link gave her a sheepish smile.

Zelda rolled her eyes. "I knew it!"

"Sorry!" Link apologized, laughing a little.

"It's okay." Zelda sighed, but then smiled brightly, thrusting the harp out in front of her and showing him. "But look at this instrument! And look at this outfit! They're mine to use today in the ceremony, since I'll be playing the role of the goddess."

Link examined the harp thoughtfully, thinking it looked pretty nice. Then his eyes moved to Zelda's body, thoroughly examining her majestic outfit. He nodded, grinning. "They're pretty nice." He complimented.

"I know," Zelda gushed. "Aren't they beautiful? Especially this instrument! They tell me it's just like the one the goddess was said to have in the legends." She explained excitedly.

"Is that so?" Link looked interested.

Zelda nodded with a smile. "It sounds gorgeous too. I asked **Father** about it, and he says it's called a **harp**."

"Well, that's pretty interesting," Link blabbed with another nod, returning Zelda's smile once again.

Zelda then giggled and lowered the harp, still smiling. "And look at these clothes!" she exclaimed. "I made this wrap myself, and we get to use it in today's ceremony! Between the harp and this outfit, I'm going to make a great goddess today!"

"I fully agree with you, Zelda!" remarked Link, laughing a bit at Zelda's excitement.

"Of course you do," said Zelda. "I got you up early this morning because I wanted you to be the first to see me like this, Link!"

Link felt quite honored at Zelda's words and it brought a light blush to his cheeks.

Zelda didn't notice and spun around in a circle, giggling cheerfully. "So…how do I look?" she asked.

"Great!" Link responded immediately, smiling.

Zelda looked incredibly happy hearing Link say that and she tilted her head to the side, smiling brightly and holding the harp in her arms tightly. "Hah, I think so too! But it's nice to know you agree. Thanks, Link."

"You're very welcome," Link talked, putting his hands on his hips and just gazing at her fondly.

Suddenly, the two of them turned their heads, hearing a deep and kind voice near them.

"Ah, there you are, Zelda. Are you all prepared for today's ceremony?"

A big man, Gaepora, approached them, Zelda's father.

"Oh, hello, Father." Zelda greeted her parent, making Link glance at her for a few seconds before returning his gaze back to Gaepora.

"Ah, Link, you're here too," said Zelda's father, stopping before them. "Outstanding."

"Hey, sir." Link greeted him with a short wave.

Gaepora smiled at him. "It's encouraging to see you up so early, given your capacity for sleep. No doubt today's ceremony had you too excited to close your eyes for once!"

"Yep." Link nodded.

"If you win today's ceremonial race, you'll get to participate in the postrace ritual with Zelda, so give it your best out there." Zelda's father warned him, giving him a look.

"Sir, _my best_ is all I can give!" Link boasted with a huge smile upon his lips, looking all full of himself.

Gaepora guffawed at this. "Ah, confident, are we?"

"You bet!" Link replied.

"Yes. About that…" Zelda suddenly piped up, bowing her head a little, trailing off.

Link and Gaepora gave her a wondering look.

Zelda suddenly lifted her head, looking very concerned. "Father, I don't know if he can do it!" She forced out, shocking Link and making him shut his eyes in surprise.

Link was truly shocked. Zelda, out of all people, thought he wouldn't be able to do it?!

"Recently Link hasn't been practicing much at all for the ceremony!" Zelda continued, still sounding very much concerned.

After hearing this, Link sheepishly and shamefully bowed his head. Everything that was being said was truly _true_! He hadn't been practicing at all for the ceremony. He just thought that he'd be able to do it _without_ any practice!

Zelda turned her head to look at Link, narrowing her eyes. "And even when he's out riding his Loftwing, he's just lazily gliding around. Probably daydreaming!" She accused.

"Ah…heh…" Link didn't know what to say.

"I don't know what he's thinking," Zelda went on, still giving him a look. "He's going to have to be in perfect control of his bird to win today." She spun away from him and took a few steps towards her father.

Gaepora walked towards her, flapping his hands in the air in front of her, motioning for her to calm down. "No need to worry yourself, Zelda."

Link raised a hand and rubbed the back of his head, still feeling quite sheepish about not practicing for the ceremony.

"Though you may have a point," Gaepora continued on. "Today's Wing Ceremony tests the skill of the rider as well as his bond to his bird. Victory will not come easily."

Zelda nodded to what he said, listening very closely to her father's wise words and whatnot.

"And, as you pointed out, I haven't seen him practicing as hard as some of the other students," talked Zelda's father. "But you've known him since you were both very little. You should know better than to fret about him!"

Zelda pursed her lips after hearing this, but didn't cut in to say anything or something. She just listened. Link did the same from beside her.

"You see, Link and his Loftwing share a special connection. I've never seen anything quite like it," said Gaepora, looking up at the sky as he spoke, causing Zelda and Link to do the same. "As you know, each of us in Skyloft is but one half a pair. We are only made whole by our Loftwings, the **guardian birds** that the goddess bestows upon each of us as a symbol of her divine protection."

Gaepora turned around, looking back at Zelda, spreading his arms a little. "When we are young, every one of us meets our Loftwing under the great Statue of the Goddess. It's quite a big moment, as I'm sure you recall." He then slowly turned to look at Link, appearing very nostalgic. "Ahh, but that first meeting between Link and his Loftwing was extraordinary."

Zelda turned her head to look at Link silently. Link gazed back at her, as he listened to Gaepora's words, remembering meeting his Loftwing for the first time. It brought a small smile to his features.

"The bird that came to him was a **Crimson Loftwing**," continued Zelda's father. "It is a breed so rare we were sure for some time that it had vanished from the line."

Link looked up towards the sky, memories flashing through his head like pictures.

"Yes, and the boy and his bird seemed to share a profound connection from the moment they met," chatted Gaepora.

After hearing this, Link removed his gaze from the sky looking at him and chuckling a bit, rubbing the back of his head.

"Do you recall when Link and that Loftwing of his first met?" Gaepora questioned Zelda. "What a sight!"

Zelda sighed a little, remembering that day.

"The little boy just hopped up on that bird and gracefully flew away, without even a moment of instruction!" Zelda's father continued to boast about Link. "They were meant for each other. And judging by how jealous you were that day, I'd say the friendship he shared with his bird didn't go unnoticed by you, my dear."

Zelda let another sigh escape her lips, knowing that her father was exactly right and correct about everything. She _had_ been jealous of the friendship Link and his Loftwing shared with each other.

Link started gazing back up at the sky again, closing his eyes and letting the wind caress his skin. He started reminiscing again, getting incredibly nostalgic about those memories. Link opened his eyes and expected to see his Crimson Loftwing soaring through the clouds, but, oddly, he did not see it.

Gaepora smiled at his daughter. "Ah, but who can blame you? I'm sure you weren't the only one envious of the powerful bond shared by Link and his bird," he told her. "Anyone who is part of something special is bound to catch some nasty looks sooner or later, hoo hoo."

Zelda gazed at Link for a few minutes before sighing loudly, bowing her head. Then she looked up, turning around to face her father and clutching her harp tightly. "This contest is nothing to laugh at, father!"

Zelda's father started flapping his hands in the air in front of him, trying to get her to calm down a bit.

However, Zelda continued, "This ceremony is part of the final test for those training to become knights of Skyloft!"

The pretty young lady then calmed down, looking downwards a bit. "If Link doesn't fly fast enough during the race…" she trailed off. Then she looked up again at her big father. "What if Link messes up his big chance…? What if he's not allowed to become a knight?"

"Calm down, my dear. It will be fine," Gaepora said to her, flapping his hands in the air again and giving his daughter an assuring smile. "Honestly, it's almost as though you become a completely different person when you worry about Link."

Zelda turned away from her father and frowned, marching towards Link determinedly. "Hey!" She called out to him, getting his attention.

Link turned around, looking at her in surprise. "Hm?"

"Listen, Link, you'd better fly your heart out today. At the very least, you need to squeeze in a little practice time before the race!" Zelda ordered him, grabbing his hand and pulling him off towards a ledge of Skyloft.

Link stumbled after her, still being pulled. "Eh? Wait…I just feel that…there's something off about this…" He tried to tell her.

Unfortunately, Zelda didn't listen and she continued onwards. "Come on! You'll thank me later!"

Once they reach the ledge, Zelda let go of his hand and pushed him to the edge, motioning for him to jump off. "Here we are," she spoke, poking her head out from his side. "Go on now. Jump off the edge and call your Loftwing. It's almost time for the ceremony, so try to practice seriously for once!" She poked her head out from his other side.

Link almost laughed at her antics, but then got serious, as he looked downward to the many clouds below.

"Zelda, listen…" Link began, getting extremely worried. "I have a really bad feeling. For some odd reason, I can't sense my Loftwing out there. It's like…it disappeared or something."

Zelda looked unconvinced. "Hmm? Oh yeah? You can't 'sense' your bird out there?" she asked him, sounding unconcerned. She didn't believe a word he just said.

Link nodded rapidly. "Yeah, Yeah. I can't feel it out there." He was getting really nervous.

"Oh, I get it. You're trying to weasel out of having to practice!" Zelda accused, narrowing her eyes at him and still not believing him. "Nice try, but you're not fooling me."

"Zelda! I'm telling the truth! I can't sense my bird out there!" Link hollered, trying to convince her, sounding desperate.

"Off you go!" Zelda ignored him, giving him a violent shove.

Link let out a yell as he went over the edge, falling downwards through the clouds, his clothes and hair whipping wildly.

Link put two fingers into his mouth and whistled loudly for his Loftwing as he continued falling. He _knew_ he couldn't sense his bird out there, but he had to try calling, right?

However, his Loftwing did not come, which was a very, very bad thing.

Up above, back on the ledge, Zelda was watching Link fall, waiting for his bird to come and stop his fall. Her father stepped up from beside her, looking down towards the falling Link, his hands behind his back.

He then got concerned. "Hmm…" He hummed, frowning and looking quite baffled. "His bird sure is taking a long time to get here…"

Zelda gasped, looking at him. "Something's wrong!" she twirled and then dived down over the edge, head first. She immediately whistled afterwards and her purple Loftwing came quickly. Zelda reached down and grasped her Loftwing's fur, holding on tightly.

They both shot down to Link and caught him in no time, flying back up toward Skyloft.

"Hang in there, Link! I've got you!" Zelda bellowed as they flew up.

Link was dangling from Zelda's Loftwing's large feet like a puppet whose strings had been cut. He sighed in great relief, happy that he didn't fall to his death, but also deeply concerned that his Crimson Loftwing did not appear.

They then landed hard, Zelda's Loftwing falling onto its stomach and releasing Link. Link had rolled onto his back, breathing heavily while Zelda quickly went over to rub the feathers on her bird, making sure it was okay.

Gaepora quickly made his way over to them, worried. "Are you two all right?" he questioned them.

Link turned his head to look at him. "We're fine…"

"I'm sorry, friend," Zelda apologetically told her bird, feeling guilty for putting it through all of that. "I didn't mean to push you so hard. You didn't sprain your wing, did you?"

Gaepora started searching the sky for Link's Loftwing, truly puzzled. "This is very odd, Link. What could have possibly happened to your Loftwing?" he asked, bafflement dancing in his tone. "For a bird to ignore the call of his master…It's unheard of!"

Link finally let out a deep sigh and got to his feet, grunting a bit and facing Gaepora. "I don't think my bird ignored my call. Something probably happened to it."

Gaepora nodded in agreement. "And you still can't sense your bird nearby, eh, Link?"

Link shook his head. "Nope."

"This is quite a problem, especially considering the Wing Ceremony is about to start…" said Zelda's father.

"Link?" Zelda spoke up suddenly, turning her head a little to look at Link, causing Link and her father to look back at her. "When you said you couldn't sense your Loftwing, well…I should have believed you…I'm sorry."

Link gave her a smile, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "Eh, don't worry about it, Zelda. I should be thanking you for saving my life. So thank you for doing that."

Zelda smiled back at him. "You're welcome."

Link nodded.

"I need to tend to my own Loftwing, so I'll catch up with you later," Zelda talked, still gently rubbing her Loftwing. "You'd better go on ahead and see if you can find where your bird has gone!"

Suddenly, they could all hear the sound of a large bell ringing, echoing throughout all of Skyloft.

Gaepora and Link looked at each other. "My, how did it get to be so late? If I recall correctly, this year Instructor Horwell is presiding over the ceremony," Zelda's father chattered. "Link, you should go explain the situation to him and see if he's willing to delay the race a little so that you can find your bird."

Link nodded. "Right."

Zelda giggled a little at this, looking at her father. "But, father, you're the headmaster of the academy! If Link asks Instructor Horwell, he'll probably just come talk to you about it."

Zelda's father chuckled. "Ah, quite true. As usual, you make an excellent point, my dear. Very well, I'll explain the situation to him myself. Link, run along and tell Instructor Horwell to come see me in my quarters." He ordered Link.

"Okay," answered Link, and then he immediately took off sprinting, leaving Zelda, her father, and the Statue of the Goddess, heading down the wooden steps again and back towards the gate. He stopped by the Bird Statue again and gave a short prayer, saving his progress.

When he was finished he started sprinting to the academy, picking up a Stamina Fruit along the way and eating it, letting the magical fruit quickly replenish his stamina.

"_I've got to hurry and tell Horwell, so I can go look for my bird!"_ Link thought as he ran, going as fast as he could…

**[SUPER SMASH BROTHERS UNIVERSE]**

Sonic the Hedgehog was lazily relaxing on the roof of a huge mansion, the mansion where all the SSBB and SSBM fighters all stayed at. He just got finished having a battle with Mario, Jigglypuff, and Samus. Now he was just relaxing and whatnot.

However, he was truly surprised when he heard a familiar voice.

"SONIC!"

Sonic's eyes snapped open and he sat up quickly, thinking he was dreaming or something.

"I…I must be dreaming…" he whispered, putting a hand to his head. "That can't be _her_…"

"OH SONIC!"

Sonic groaned and warily looked down, seeing a pink hedgehog standing there, hands on her hips and a very, _very_ big smile on her face. She looked really happy to see him.

"Amy…what are you doing here? How did you get here? Where did you come from? _Why_ are you even here?!" Sonic threw all these questions at her, sounding like it was the end of the world.

Amy Rose looked annoyed now. "I came here to see you, Sonic! How can you be so rude to your own girlfriend?" she asked, frowning.

"You're not my girlfriend!" Sonic hollered.

"YES I AM!" Amy screamed, whipping out her hammer. "I'll bash your brains in!"

Sonic cringed and stayed on the roof, knowing she wouldn't be able to get up there. "Too bad you can't do that though." Sonic smirked, getting comfortable again. "I'm way up here and you're way down there."

Amy stomped her foot onto the ground furiously. "SONIC! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!" she shouted viciously.

"No." Sonic chuckled.

Amy screamed out in rage, having a giant fit.

Suddenly, Princess Daisy exited the mansion, looking confused and a bit irritated. She was dressed in her yellow tennis outfit instead of her dress. "What's all the commotion out here?!" she exclaimed.

Amy stopped her fit and looked at Daisy, raising an eyebrow. "Eh? Who are you?" she queried.

"I'm Princess Daisy!" Daisy answered, putting her hands on her hips. "Who are _you_?"

"I'm Amy Rose, Sonic's girlfriend!" Amy responded, sounding quite happy about it too.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Sonic shouted from up on the roof.

Daisy looked up at the blue hedgehog. "You know this girl?"

"Yeah. She's a friend of mine. We come from the same universe," Sonic responded with a shrug.

"Sonic, mind telling me how you know _her_?" Amy jabbed her hammer in Daisy's direction. "She's not your girlfriend, _is she_?" she asked in a very threatening voice.

"Of course not!" Sonic rolled his eyes. "We're just friends!"

"That's right." Daisy confirmed.

"Thought so!" Amy sniffed, putting her hammer away.

Suddenly, Marth, Roy, and Ike came out of the mansion along with Toon Link and Ganondorf.

"What is all the noise?" Marth questioned, looking around. Then his eyes landed on Amy. "Who is that?"

"I've never seen you before!" Roy bellowed, happily making his way over to Amy. He held out his hand for a handshake. "I'm Roy! Nice to meet you!"

Amy took his hand and shook it. "Amy Rose."

"Hello there. I'm Ike." Ike introduced himself politely. "Are you a new fighter here, Amy Rose?"

"That'd be cool. We need more girls here!" Toon Link piped up cheerfully at Amy. "I'm Toon Link by the way!"

"No we don't." Ganondorf mumbled.

However, he went ignored.

"Sorry, but I'm not a fighter here!" Amy answered, letting go of Roy's hand, grinning widely. "I just came here to visit my Sonic!" She pointed a finger at Sonic on the roof.

Sonic stayed where he was while Ganondorf just walked back into the mansion, not wanting to deal with any of them. "I still want to know how you got here, Amy!" talked Sonic.

"I traveled here!" responded Amy. "Just like you!"

"Somehow…I don't believe you." Sonic muttered, shaking his head.

"WELL, YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!" Amy screeched. Then she turned to Marth, Roy, Ike, Toon Link, and Daisy. "I'm Sonic's girlfriend!"

"SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Sonic howled, finally jumping down from the roof to greet his friends. "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Sonic!" Roy simpered at him. "You never told me you had a girlfriend."

Sonic facepalmed.

"Are you sure you're Sonic's girlfriend?" Marth questioned Amy, eyeing her suspiciously. "Because he just said that you weren't."

Amy whipped out her hammer, glaring at Marth dangerously. "I _am_ his girlfriend!" She hissed like a venomous snake.

Marth held up his hands, backing away. "Okay, okay…"

"Trust me; you do NOT want to get hit with her mallet." Sonic whispered to them all.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Amy Rose," remarked Ike to the pink hedgehog kindly, being all friendly.

"Yeah, I agree!" Daisy piped up happily, crossing her arms.

"Anyway, whose match is next?" Toon Link questioned, looking around at everyone.

"I think Peach, Wario, Link, and I are next," Roy answered, looking rather thoughtful. "I should be getting ready."

"I have to see this!" Sonic declared with a grin.

"Yeah, you all can come watch, you too Amy," Roy told the pink hedgehog with a nod of his head.

"Okay! I have nothing better to do!" Amy replied.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, an oval shaped, purple void opened up above them in the sky. The wind around them picked up extremely rapidly and the ground began to shake violently.

"What's going on?!" Amy cried, looking around in alarm.

"I think _that's_ what's going on!" Toon Link pointed up with his sword at the giant void.

"What is that?!" Sonic yowled, staring up at the abomination in horror and confusion.

"Grab on to something! I think it's trying to pull us in!" Marth shouted out, grabbing onto a nearby tree. He held out his hand for Daisy.

Daisy quickly grabbed his hand, her body lifting up into the air because of the void in the sky.

"Ahhh! What's going on?!" she screamed loudly, her eyes wide.

"SONIC!"

Sonic had been going over to join Marth and Daisy when he heard Amy's scream. He turned his head and looked, but instantly regretted it.

He saw Amy floating up into the void rapidly, holding her dress down so it wouldn't fly up.

"Sonic! Help me!" Amy wailed.

"Amy!" Sonic jumped up into the air, letting the void pull him up. He wrapped his arms around the pink hedgehog and they both got sucked inside the purplish abomination.

"Oh no!" Roy cried, watching this all happen. He wrapped an arm around Toon Link and tried to rush over to Marth and Daisy, but he started lifting up into the air along with Toon Link under his arm.

"Waaaah! Is this the end?!" Toon Link cried, clutching onto Roy.

"It…it can't be!" Roy exclaimed with huge eyes as they both got sucked into the ugly void.

Ike let out a loud yelp as he, too, was sucked into the void, leaving Marth and Daisy behind. The rest of the fighters that were still in the mansion, stared out from the windows in horror at the void. They didn't go outside because they knew they'd be sucked up too!

Daisy was grasping Marth's hand tightly, trying not to be sucked up. She looked to the mansion and saw Luigi peering at her from one of the windows in complete terror.

"Luigi!" Daisy wailed.

"My grip is slipping…" Marth muttered to Daisy, desperately trying to keep his grip on the tree he was holding onto.

Suddenly, Daisy lost _her_ grip and went sailing up into the void, screaming the entire time.

"Daisy!" Marth exclaimed in complete shock and horror. His grip finally broke and he went up into the void, being sucked up like a vacuum.

Right after Marth disappeared into the void, the void dispersed and everything went back to normal.

All of the fighters exited the mansion, shock, sadness, and horror evident on their faces.

"What just happened?!" Mario exclaimed, staring up at the sky.

"That thing sucked up Daisy and poor Toon Link!" Peach blubbered with tears in her eyes.

"What do we do?!" cried Luigi.

"Marth, Toon Link, Daisy, Ike, Roy, Sonic, and a pink hedgehog all got sucked up into that…that thing that was in the sky!" Link mumbled from beside Zelda, staring up at the sky too.

"Will we ever see them again?" Zelda whispered, looking very sad.

"There's nothing we can do right now." Samus sighed with a shake of her head. "We're going to have to wait and see what happens."

"But we can't just sit here and do _nothing_!" Ness shouted, looking very distraught and unhappy. "Those were our friends!"

"Yeah, we have to do _something_!" Lucas agreed.

"What do you want to do?" Samus snapped at them. "Do you want to fly up into the sky and _hope_ that we see them floating out in space?!"

Ness and Lucas both went quiet after this.

"Calm down everyone. I'm sure they'll come back," Captain Falcon said with a nod of his head.

"He's right," Fox piped up.

"Yeah!" Kirby agreed, jumping up and down.

"They're strong," mumbled Falco.

"Yeah, we shouldn't worry too much," said Lucario.

Everyone agreed that they'd wait for their return, knowing that they'd come back to them sooner or later.


	3. The Search

**CHAPTER 2: The Search  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Link had rushed back to the Knight Academy and immediately told Instructor Horwell to meet Zelda's father in his quarters. Then he had a little chat with Owlan and Owlan had told him to just worry about searching for his bird. Link immediately obeyed and was now asking around for information on where his bird might be. First, he started with Pipit.<p>

"Hey!" Link greeted the guy, walking over to him inside the Knight Academy building.

Pipit looked at him and then got a frown on his face, placing his hands onto his hips. "You're not still wandering around the academy, are you?!" he questioned him.

"No!" Link responded quickly. "I'm looking for my Loftwing! It's missing and I know this because it ignored my call when I called it! So that means something happened to it!"

Pipit looked extremely shocked. "What?! Your Loftwing won't come when you call for it? Why would a guardian bird not come when it's called?" he questioned, still very much shocked.

"Something must've happened to it…" Link muttered.

Pipit just shook his head, sighing. "You know, I've never heard of this ever happening before, so I can't tell you what you're doing wrong…"

Link was about to speak, but Pipit cut him off.

"But a good senior never hangs an underclassman out to dry," Pipit told him with a smile, his hands still on his hips. "We'll figure this out together!"

Link sighed, but smiled. "Thanks."

Pipit nodded, pointing behind him with a thumb. "You go to the plaza, and ask people there if they know anything. In the meantime, I'll ask around here." He suggested.

"Alright, great," said Link with a nod.

Pipit then walked off and went to do his part while Link turned and dashed out of the Knight Academy, picking up a Stamina Fruit along the way and munching on it.

He saw another one of his friends, a little boy that went by the name Gully. He was continuously rolling and hitting a tree, trying to do something…that Link didn't know what.

Link was just going to walk on by, but the boy stopped him.

"Hold up, Link!" Gully called out. "Hey! Hey, Link!"

Link turned around and approached the little boy. "Yeah, Gully? What is it?" he asked him.

"Could you help me with something?" Gully asked, looking up at him curiously and hopefully.

Link gave him a friendly smile. "Sure. I'd be happy to help you with anything," he answered him. Finding his bird could wait for a few minutes, right? This probably wouldn't take very long.

"All you have to do is dash and roll into this tree here." Gully pointed at the small tree beside them, smiling. "Just like I've been doing. Dash, then roll when you're in front of the tree to—BAM! Do a roll right into it! So come on…Pleeeeease?"

"Sure!" Link turned and dashed toward the tree, doing a front roll to thwack the tree.

A giant blue beetle flew off of the tree and into the air after this was done, and little Gully was excited and cheerful.

"Whooooooooa!" Gully exclaimed, watching the bug. "You did it! A **Sky Stag Beetle**!"

Link chuckled a little at Gully's excitement, watching as the little boy went after the Sky Stag Beetle.

"Wait up!" Gully called out to it, chasing it.

Link watched Gully for a few more minutes before noticing a Blue Rupee fall out of the tree. He grabbed it and placed it into his wallet before continuing on his way, to go to the plaza and ask around about his bird.

He grabbed a Stamina Fruit along the way and chewed on it as he dashed, the fruit replenishing his stamina like always.

Link slowed down a bit and finally caught sight of three others he knew in Skyloft that _weren't_ his friends. The threes' names were, Groose, Cawlin, and Strich.

Groose was the leader of the three and had some kind of crazy, red hairdo. Cawlin was the midget of the three and had tiny eyes and a tiny mouth. And Strich was the tallest one of them all with bright yellow hair that covered his entire forehead.

Currently, Groose was sitting on the ground while Strich and Cawlin gave Groose a back massage or something. Well, that's what it looked like to Link anyway.

Link could hear them talking as he approached them.

"…You know, **Groose**, that sure was a pain, what with all the scratching and pecking," said Strich.

Groose, with his crazy hairdo, chuckled in delight. "Course it was. You thought a big **Crimson Loftwing** like that was gonna go down without a fight?"

Link immediately heard what Groose said and got a bit furious. He started to wonder just what the three goons had done to his bird!

"But we got him, and I don't care how tough those birds are supposed to be. He's not getting out of that pen anytime soon, boys," Groose informed his silly pals with a huge smile on his face.

Link stopped in front of them, crossing his arms over his chest and wearing a very irked expression.

The three goons finally got to their feet. Cawlin and Strich both turned around first and were shocked to see Link standing there, taking a few steps back. They _knew_ that Link heard them talking about his bird.

Groose stretched out his arms and finally turned around too, but immediately got this shocked look on his face and jumped a little, backing up at the sight of Link.

"Whoa!" he yawped. "Link! So, uh…yeah. Just how long you been standing there?"

"Long enough," Link growled, letting his hands drop to his sides. His blood was boiling by now due to all the anger he was feeling.

Groose suddenly grinned mischievously and put one hand behind his back, the other hand going to his chin as he began to slowly circle around Link.

"What's your problem, anyway?" he asked him as he laughed. "Oh, wait…I got it. You're here to talk about today's **race**. I can see it in those dopey eyes of yours."

Link balled his hands into tight fists, shaking a bit in pure fury. Dopey? Did his eyes really look _dopey_?!

However, Groose continued on, "They're pleading, "Oh, Groose, can you please find it in your heart to let me win today? Please!"

"Shut up!" Link snarled at him, really tempted to punch Groose's ugly lights out.

"Hey, quiet!" Cawlin suddenly snapped at Link. "Groose isn't finished talking yet, so shut your yapping!"

Now Link felt like punching _Cawlin's_ lights out!

"You're just desperate to win so you can have some **alone time** with Zelda up on the **Statue of the Goddess** at the end of the ceremony," Groose accused Link, stopping right in front of him and getting in his face. "Well, sorry, pal. Groose doesn't do charity for wimps. My advice? Work hard and wish with all your heart. You might even come in second."

Link gave Groose a dark look, his hands still in tightened fists. "I'm not a wimp! And I'll beat your butt so bad that you'll _wish_ you never competed in this ceremony!" Link promised him, his voice filled with rage and annoyance.

Groose looked absolutely insulted. "Hey! You shut your yap when I'm talking to ya!" He pointed a finger at him.

"Make me." Link challenged, crossing his arms.

Groose looked like he wanted to hurt Link, but refrained from doing so. Instead, he smiled evilly. "…Say, come to think of it, how come I don't see your bird?" he questioned him in a knowing tone. "Where is that scruffy pile of red feathers?"

Link didn't say anything to that, but _knew_ Groose and his goony pals did something to his bird.

Groose chuckled and took a few steps away from Link, folding his big arms over his chest. "I can't imagine what could've happened to him. Do you think his tiny brain got confused by all the clouds and got lost?" He jokingly suggested.

"Give him back!" Link shouted at Groose.

Groose decided to play dumb and shrugged, unfolding his arms and spreading them out. "Huh? I've got no idea what you're talking about."

Link opened his mouth to say something, but Groose suddenly pointed a finger right in his face.

"You know, we're all getting tired of how you never let anyone forget you and Zelda **go way back**," Groose remarked harshly. "You've been friends since you were kids? Big deal. It doesn't change the fact that you float through life with your head in the clouds."

Link stared up at Groose, anger evident in his eyes.

"Would you wake up, straighten up, and grow a backbone already?" Groose went on. "Dopes like you are dragging our honored academy through the mud."

Suddenly, there was a female's voice.

"And just who might you be talking about, Groose?"

Everyone looked and saw Zelda standing there, hands on her hips and an angry expression dancing on her features.

Groose backed up a little, looking all shocked. "Oh…Zelda. Hey. Nah, it's…uh…" He was completely speechless.

Link gave Zelda a grateful look, but then let out a grunt when she walked over, pushing him behind her and staring up at Groose, immediately pointing a finger at his face much like Groose had done to Link a few minutes ago.

"Don't even try it, Groose!" Zelda commented vigorously him. "You're picking on Link again, aren't you?"

Groose didn't say anything and just stared at Zelda.

"He's a student at the academy, like all of us." Zelda explained to him, anger still in her voice. "Why do you insist on bullying him around so much?"

Groose finally opened his mouth to say something, but looked pretty out of it as he just gazed at Zelda. "Yeah…I suppose…"

"You suppose?" Zelda gave him a confused look, her finger still in his face. "Suppose what?"

Link rolled his eyes at Groose's odd behavior. He knew Groose liked Zelda a _lot_, and got all flustered when she was around him. However, Link grinned because Zelda had come and defended him from Groose like many times before in the past.

Groose started grinning dazedly and steam actually floated out of his nose and he chuckled goofily. "I…suppose…you…Er…"

And then, after a moment, he calmed down and shook his head, turning away from them. "Pfft! Forget it. I wasn't supposing anything, okay?"

Zelda let her hand drop, looking very perplexed. "Huh?"

Groose went on over to a ledge of Skyloft along with his pals. Groose struck a silly pose while Cawlin and Strich tried to look cool by posing with their arms crossed over their chests.

"Okay, we're outta here, boys. Later, Link!" Groose spoke tauntingly. "Hope you find your bird, or else you're gonna have to sit out today's race!" He laughed merrily. "That could be a major setback toward knighthood, so find that bird or get real used to the taste of failure! It's your special flavor."

And with that, all three of them leapt off of the ledge, immediately whistling for their Loftwings. They landed on their birds and took off into the sky, laughing the entire time.

Zelda watched them go with an annoyed expression on her features. "I hate to say it, but I'm beginning to suspect that those blockheads had something to do with your Loftwing's disappearance."

"No, really?" Link sarcastically replied, but simpered fondly at her.

Zelda laughed a little at his sarcasm, but then got serious again. "Link, those guys aren't going to help us find your bird, so we'd better start searching." She turned around to face him. "I'll fly around Skyloft and see if I can spot any trace of your bird."

"Okay, thanks, Zelda." Link sighed.

"No problem," Zelda caterwauled. "Father said he'd talk to Instructor Horwell about delaying the start of the Wing Ceremony, so don't worry. We'll find your bird in no time."

Link nodded at her.

Zelda nodded back at him and then turned, running toward the ledge and then flawlessly jumped off, whistling for her bird and taking off into the skies to do her duty.

Link whirled and resumed his search for his Loftwing.

During his search, he came across a bridge where three women, that he knew, were standing on and having a 'dandy' conversation. Their names were, Goselle, Greba, and Mallara.

"Such a beautiful day, but we're too busy to enjoy it," said Goselle to the other women. "Some things never change."

"Isn't that the truth!" put in Greba. "The only thing my lug nut of a son is good for is getting grease on his shirt! All I do is laundry, laundry, laundry. It never ends!"

"I hear you!" added Mallara, fanning a hand at her face. "And I'm terrible at washing clothes. I wish I could get someone to do it for me."

Link turned away from them and jogged on over to a young lady named Orielle. "Hey there, Orielle!" Link greeted her, huffing and puffing.

Orielle peered at him. "What's up, Link? You seem to be in a hurry…" she trailed off, staring at him.

"Yeah, something happened to my Loftwing," Link answered her with a shrug of his shoulders.

"What's this about your bird? Oh, that unusual Crimson Loftwing…" Orielle talked thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that one." Link confirmed. "Have you seen him anywhere in Skyloft? I've been looking all over the place."

"Have I seen him?" Orielle frowned, folding her arms and shaking her head. "I'm sorry. I haven't." Then she gazed at him again. "Why don't you look for him by the Statue of the Goddess? You'll have a good view of the whole town from way up there. Just check your map. Knowing you, that's the best way to avoid getting lost…again."

Link grinned and gave a short nod. "Okay, thanks."

"You're welcome, Link!" Orielle told him with a nod of her head, turning away from him and going back to what she had been doing before Link had come up to talk to her.

Link started making his way toward the Statue of the Goddess while whipping out his map from out of nowhere and taking a look at it, slowly munching on a Stamina Fruit he had seen on the ground. No, he didn't need any stamina at the moment, but only the sweetness of the fruit!

Right when he reached the wooden steps up to the Statue of the Goddess, a loud voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Hey! Link!"

Link quickly put his map away and gobbled down the rest of the Stamina Fruit, turning in the direction of the voice. He could see Pipit and Fledge standing not too far from where he was, Pipit waving a hand at him and motioning for him to come over.

"Over here!" he called out again.

"Why?!" Link called back, wondering.

"I have some information about your Loftwing," Pipit responded loudly. "Come over here!"

Link sighed and started sprinting towards them, jumping down after reaching them and standing in front of them, looking at Pipit. However, he noticed Fledge looked a little distraught and very guilty.

"I wonder why…" Link muttered to himself.

"Hey, Link! I was just looking for you," Pipit boomed at him, making gestures with his hand.

"Yeah, and?" Link wanted to know _why_.

"_And_ get this: when I asked Fledge what he knew, he started acting weird," Pipit replied, putting his hands on his hips.

Link immediately moved his gaze to Fledge, raising an eyebrow and waiting for some kind of explanation.

Fledge sighed sadly. "I'm so sorry, Link!"

"What do you know about my bird?" Link demanded to know, getting really urgent now.

Fledge clasped his hands in front of him, sighing once more. "I really wanted to tell you, but…if Groose found out I told you…"

Link looked at Pipit.

Pipit talked, "It sounds like Groose forced him to keep quiet about it."

"Seems like it," Link mumbled.

Pipit turned to look at Fledge. "Go on! Tell him the truth."

Fledge sighed deeply and bowed his head in shame. "Just a little while ago, when I was cleaning the dining hall, Groose and his buddies came in. They didn't notice I was there and started talking about their **plan to hide** your Loftwing…"

Link and Pipit both listened intently, watching Fledge with their eyes.

"I wanted to warn you, Link. But just as I tried to sneak away…" Fledge continued on. "Groose and his gang grabbed me...They said that if I told you, they'd make sure I would never be able to ride a bird ever again!"

Pipit shook his head and looked at Link. "It sounds like Groose and his buddies had a plan to capture your bird and hide him near a **waterfall**," he commented. "Well, near a waterfall would mean…Quick—let's take a look at your map."

Link pulled out his map and unrolled it, showing it to Pipit.

Pipit scanned the map and then pointed a finger at the destination. "That's it! Right there. I think it means the waterfall marked here with an X."

Link looked and noticed the X on the location, wondering how it got there out of the blue.

"You know how to read a map right?" Pipit questioned Link as he rolled up the map, handing it back to Link.

Link rolled his eyes, putting his map away. "Yes, Pipit. I know how to read a map!"

"Forgive me, Link!" Fledge exclaimed all of a sudden, sounding really apologetic and guilty. "I can't help being such a coward…I'm really sorry."

Link gave him a small smile. "It's okay, Fledge. Don't worry about it. It's not your fault," he said to him and turned away. He was about to head toward the waterfall, but Pipit stopped him.

"One more thing, Link!" Pipit talked.

Link whipped around to look at him. "Yes?"

Pipit folded his arms, giving him a warning look. "If you're going out to the waterfall, remember that there are some dangerous things there. Creepy, crawly things. You'll need to carry a **sword**."

"Oh…right," yawped Link.

Pipit jabbed a thumb toward the building behind them. "I think I saw the **Knight Commander** go into the Sparring Hall a while ago," he conveyed. "You should go ask him if you could borrow one!"

"Thanks, Pipit!" Link caterwauled before rushing into the Sparring Hall and strolling on up to Eagus, the Knight Commander.

"Hey, Link!" Eagus greeted him cheerfully, holding a sword in his hand and standing tall and whatnot. "So you still want to get in some sword practice, even though today is the Wing Ceremony? I'm impressed."

Before Link could explain, Eagus cut him off, "The sword is in the back room. Go on back there and get it. I'll be here for a while, so if there's anything you don't understand about handling a sword, go ahead and ask."

Without a word, Link turned around and entered the back room, finding some things along with a blue chest. He frowned and approached the chest, opening it and then pulling out the Practice Sword!

He grinned and examined the blade, giving it a couple of swings before turning and leaving the room. He marched right up to Eagus and Eagus immediately started speaking to him.

"Oh yeah? You want to learn about how to use a sword?" he questioned him curiously.

"Even though I already know how to use one, yes please," Link responded with a nod of his head. "I just need a little practice, is all!"

"Okay! Just swing your arm to swing the sword!" Eagus answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

And so, the practicing commenced.

It didn't last very long though.

Link couldn't waste any more time. The Wing Ceremony was going to start soon and he still didn't have his bird!

Link jogged to the exit of the Sparring Hall and was about to make his exit, but, of course, Eagus stopped him.

"Hey! Link!"

Link slowly turned around. "Yeah?"

"You can't take swords outside of the Sparring Hall," Eagus told him very seriously, looking at him like he was crazy. "What do you think you're doing sneaking out with that?!"

Link glanced at the sword in his hand before sheathing it. "I wasn't really _sneaking_ or anything…"

"Then what are you doing?!"

"You see…I need this sword so I can go get my bird behind the waterfall." Link explained calmly. "I need to defend myself against the monsters and whatnot, you know."

"What?" Eagus eyed him closely. "Your Loftwing is missing?"

"Yep."

"You want to go look for it?"

"_Yep_."

"Well I guess I could make an exception just this once." Eagus sighed heavily, nodding his head. "But remember that Skyloft is a peaceful place. Only knights carry swords! So I don't want to see you swinging it around like crazy out there! I don't want to get in a ton of trouble over this, so here's the deal…"

Link listened.

"Ah…never mind. Just go and hurry." Eagus waved him off.

Link looked confused, but shrugged, hurrying out of the Sparring Hall.

Finally!

* * *

><p><strong>Note: <strong>Well...Marth shows up in the next chapter.


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